Construction oe railroads



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS WEBB, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROADS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 24,895, dated July 26, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos WEBB, of Savannah, in the county of Chatham and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full. clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the anneXed drawings, making part of this specilication, in Which- Figure l, is a vertical section of a series of ties or sleepers With rails attached, taken in the line a, Fig. Q. Fig. 2, is a side view of one of the ties or sleepers the rails being bisected transversely, as indicated by the line y, y, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two gures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention I Will proceed to describe it.

A, represents a series of rail-road ties or sleepers of the usual quadrilateral form. These ties or sleepers are placed in the ground B, at the usual or any suitable distance apart, and in an angular position, that is to say, one edge of the bottom of the sleepers are placed lower than the other, so'that the lower as Well as the upper surfaces will be inclined from a horizontal position, and the sides consequently inclined from vertical planes. This Will be clearlyunderstood by referring to Fig. l. The ties or sleepers are placed consecutively in reverse positions, or, in other Words, every alternate sleeper coincides in position and the intermediate ones are placed in a reverse position, so that the adjoining or opposite sides of the sleepers are inclined in reverse directions. rFhe upper surfaces of the ties or sleepers near each end are grooved transversely, as shown at a, Fig. 2, so as to form horizontal surfaces to receive the rails C, C, the ties or sleepers at the inner sides of the rails and adjoining the grooves being beveled, as shown at I), Fig. 2, so that the projecting upper edges or corners will not interfere with the flanches of the car Wheels. The foundation of the road may be prepared in the usual Way.

By this invention many advantages are obtained over the usual Way of laying the sleepers. First, it forms a more solid and firm road, for every alternate sleeper has, in consequence of being inclined, a firm abutment to bear against and a suitable resistance is offered to the movement of the cars When moving in either direction. The Wear and tear of the road as well as that of the running-gear of the cars will be very considerably reduced below that of ordinary roads. Second, the position of the sleepers form a kind of dove-tail and they Will consequently be prevented from rising or Working up and down, and as their upper surfaces are inclined, the Water is allowed to pass quickly oft them and they will consequently be less liable to rot than the sleepers laid in the usual Way. Third, the sleepers being grooved near their ends to receive the rails, a necessary measure in consequence of their angular position, the rails will be prevented from spreading and less spikes Will be necessary to secure them to the rails. Fourth, the sleepers in consequence of being laid angularly form a very uneven center space, and cattle Will thereby be deterred from lying thereon, and it will also have a tendency to prevent people from walking on rail-roads and prevent the accidents which now frequently occur. Fifth, the road can be re paired With greater facility than usual, for in placing new sleepers in the foundation by ramming the earth at the elevated sides of the sleepers only they Will be soon firmly i bedded.

` Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

The arrangement of the ties A, in alter nate reversed inclined positions as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

AMOS WEBB. lVitnesses:

Ro R. HABERSHAM, LAURENCE CONNELL. 

